Was not being associated with Nixon part of Reagan’s appeal?

[darklordoftech]

Ford, HW Bush, and Dole were associated with Nixon, but Reagan wasn’t.

[OSR stands with Israel]

It only hurt Ford , it did not affect HW and Dole at all .


HW won a electoral landslide in 1988 and lost because of the economy a divided party , and a badly run campaign not cause of any connection to Nixon . HW was mainly connected with Reagan not Nixon



And dole no he lost cause there was no way any republican would win that year and you can argue he actually over performed

[darklordoftech]

It only hurt Ford , it did not affect HW and Dole at all .


HW won a electoral landslide in 1988 and lost because of the economy a divided party , and a badly run campaign not cause of any connection to Nixon . HW was mainly connected with Reagan not Nixon



And dole no he lost cause there was no way any republican would win that year and you can argue he actually over performed

I was talking about HW’s and Dole’s 1980 campaigns, not their 1988 or 1996 campaigns.

[OSR stands with Israel]

It only hurt Ford , it did not affect HW and Dole at all .


HW won a electoral landslide in 1988 and lost because of the economy a divided party , and a badly run campaign not cause of any connection to Nixon . HW was mainly connected with Reagan not Nixon



And dole no he lost cause there was no way any republican would win that year and you can argue he actually over performed

I was talking about HW’s and Dole’s 1980 campaigns, not their 1988 or 1996 campaigns.

Reagan had more endorsements anyway and was the clear favorite from day 1. Reagan was viewed in 1979 was the only republican polled against carter and was expected to sweep the primaries easily.


HW did much better than anyone thought he would in 1979

[brucejoel99]

Partly, but moreso because Reagan was "anti-establishment" in a sense rather than simply not associated with Nixon.

[Redban]

FYI —  Reagan came within a whisker of selecting Gerald Ford as his VP. On the night of the convention, most people thought it was a foregone conclusion. Reagan’s people made a ton of concessions to Ford in relation to an envisioned “co-Presidency” (some people say those concessions shaped Dick Cheney’s vice presidency, as Cheney was around the negotiations). George HW Bush was in the running and wanted the VP pick badly. He didn’t have anything else to look forward to after the failed presidency run, and he knew a VP tenure would help his chances in 1988. He, Dubya, and Jeb were in the hotel room in Detroit on the convention’s last night, feeling down about not getting picked. Then Reagan called after Ford backed off, and the rest was history. Reagan didn’t want Bush because of the campaign attacks, the talk about voodoo economics. Ford was easily Reagan’s desired VP, and polls indeed showed more support for Ford as VP. So ultimately, Reagan was trying to forge a connection with the Nixon regime.

The party in 1980 was still divided between Goldwater / Reagan conservatives and the Nixon / Eisenhower moderates. Reagan was able to shore up the former group easily, but he needed helped with the latter. That was where Ford and Bush came in as potential running mates. So the absence of a connection with Nixon was both good and bad for Reagan, at a time of a divided Republican Party. Whoever won in 1980, whether Bush or Reagan, was going to need to shore up the divided party. Bush himself sought the same when he picked an ultra-conservative in Dan Quayle to offset his moderate views.

Really, Ronald Reagan won because he was the charismatic ex-movie star. He almost won in 1976 and 1968. So by 1980, it wasn’t a surprise.

[brucejoel99]

Really, Ronald Reagan won because he was the charismatic ex-movie star. He almost won in 1976 and 1968. So by 1980, it wasn’t a surprise.

1976, sure. 1968, no - not even close.

[Indy Texas]

The irony, of course, is that Reagan was one of Nixon's most shameless and vocal apologists all through the Watergate scandal.

[Sumner 1868]

Given how terrible he did about the same with Ford among voters under 22-29 (who would have cared the most about Nixon) I doubt it.

[Orser67]

I don't think it was overtly part of his appeal, in part because the type of people who were strongly anti-Nixon in 1976 and 1980 generally weren't Republican primary voters. But I think that Watergate did create an anti-establishment atmosphere that benefited Carter and, to a somewhat lesser extent, Reagan.

[Agonized-Statism]

Possibly. Reagan took Carter's pure-of-heart outsider evangelical image and ran with it. Religious right voters saw him as a response to corruption and decadence in America, exemplified- they would probably admit- by figures like Nixon.

[morgankingsley]

I would say it definitely gave some people a slightly better feeling about it all